Tag Archives: gifts

How could I resist when that message from my sister flashed up on my phone screen? I headed straight for Ravelry and searched for scarf patterns. I settled on the Cranberry scarf designed by Kirsten Hipsky. I chose it because it’s knitted in chunky wool, so I knew I could get it done quickly, and it was a simple pattern to follow.

You can’t really tell from the picture (red never photographs well), but it’s a dark red, knitted using Cygnet chunky. It was knitted on 6mm needles, cast on sideways. It was a bit of a struggle to fit all the cast on stitches onto the needle, but I just about managed. When I cast it all off, I thought that I should have cast on more than the pattern suggested, as it seemed a bit short. But now that the sister has been wearing it for a few days it’s stretched to about normal scarf-length.

The pattern was just the same line repeated, so it was quick to pick up and I didn’t have to concentrate on it. For a few days it traveled around everywhere with me. It even watched the Doctor Who 50th anniversary show with me. It made me think about how much knitting can become a part of you, especially if you’re the type of person who takes knitting around with you. It becomes a part of your life, almost an extension of you, so when it’s finished and you give it away as a gift, it really is like giving them a part of yourself. I think that’s why I like knitting gifts so much.

So I guess I really should get back to all that Christmas gift knitting I still haven’t finished…